LSAT For Dummies (with Free Online Practice Tests), 2nd Edition
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You will encounter logical reasoning questions when you go to take the LSAT. Doing practice questions will improve your ability to answer these questions and increase your confidence on test day.

Logical reasoning sample questions

  1. Park ranger: The National Park Service should pay close attention to naming its parks and monuments. Parks and monuments with attractive names bring in many more tourists than facilities with less inspiring names.

    Which one of the following, if true, would provide the most support for the park ranger's assertion?

    • (A) Civil War buffs especially love Civil War battlefields, monuments, and state parks on which they can reenact historic battles.

    • (B) National parks in the western United States, which feature inspiring scenery, attract far more visitors than national parks in the eastern part of the country.

    • (C) The Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site has a more appealing name than the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site.

    • (D) South Carolina's Congaree Swamp National Monument saw an increase in visitors after it changed its name to Congaree National Park.

    • (E) Yellowstone National Park brings in many visitors because it provides a variety of attractions, such as the Old Faithful geyser, petrified trees, and abundant wildlife.

  2. It is outrageous that the government has outlawed smoking in so many public places. This is a question of civil liberties. Smokers know that smoking can make them sick, and if they choose to poison themselves, that should be their business. The government does not have the right to stop people from doing an activity that can only hurt the person engaging in it.

    Which one of the following, if true, most weakens the argument?

    • (A) An irony of politics is that many people who believe that government should not interfere with people's economic lives and property rights also believe that the government has every right to regulate morality and private behavior.

    • (B) Five years after quitting smoking, a former smoker's lungs are difficult to distinguish from the lungs of someone who has never smoked.

    • (C) Most people who are diagnosed with lung cancer die within five years of the diagnosis.

    • (D) Experts attribute recent decreases in smoking rates to better education about the effects of smoking, the Surgeon General's warning on packs of cigarettes, and laws limiting the advertising of cigarettes.

    • (E) Recent studies have shown that nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke suffer more heart attacks, slower-healing wounds, and in general, higher mortality than people who breathe smoke-free air.

  3. Actors tend to be extroverts who are perfectly comfortable appearing and speaking before a crowd of people. People who want to become more extroverted should therefore study drama and perform in plays.

    The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument

    • (A) assumes that it is better to be extroverted than introverted

    • (B) presupposes that actors become extroverted because they study drama

    • (C) attributes a characteristic to actors without providing evidence to support that claim

    • (D) fails to adequately define the term “extrovert”

    • (E) ignores the other ways that people can improve their confidence in situations such as public speaking

  4. In 1995, the federal government gave states the right to set their own speed limits; several states immediately increased their speed limits to 70 miles per hour, and some even abolished limits entirely. In most cases, this hasn’t been a problem; the overall percentage of accidents per drivers has not increased since the speed limits were raised. At the same time, however, highway accident fatalities have increased 6 percent.

    Which one of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent discrepancy described here?

    • (A) Teenage drivers are the most likely to exceed speed limits, and their driving skill is not yet equal to the task of avoiding high speed accidents.

    • (B) Accidents that occur at a higher speed are much more likely to be fatal than those at lower speeds.

    • (C) State governments are not as concerned with highway safety as the federal government was in the days of a federally mandated speed limit.

    • (D) In the 1970s, more people drove smaller, compact cars that got good gas mileage but were incapable of maintaining a high speed.

    • (E) Drivers today are often distracted by CD players, radios, cellphones, and other devices, which makes them more likely to get into accidents.

Answers

  1. D. South Carolina's Congaree Swamp National Monument saw an increase in visitors after it changed its name to Congaree National Park.

  2. E. Recent studies have shown that nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke suffer more heart attacks, slower-healing wounds, and in general, higher mortality than people who breathe smoke-free air.

  3. B. presupposes that actors become extroverted because they study drama

  4. B. Accidents that occur at a higher speed are much more likely to be fatal than those at lower speeds.

About This Article

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About the book authors:

Lisa Zimmer Hatch and Scott A. Hatch have prepared students for standardized testing from more than 300 universities. Amy Hackney Blackwell is a former attorney who received her JD from the University of Virginia School of Law.

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